Napoli

The club was formed in 1926, and didn’t accomplish a whole lot on the pitch for a long time. They won the Coppa Italia in 1962 and 1976, but everything changed in 1984 when they signed Diego Maradona from Barcelona.

With Maradona, they won Serie A in 1987 and 1990, as well as another Coppa and the 1989 UEFA Cup, essentially today’s Europa League — their only European trophy to date.

The club retired his number 10 shirt, but that’s an understatement; he is effectively the patron saint of the city, with murals and shrines all over, and until 2023 he seems to have single-handedly given the club everything it celebrated. After he died in 2020, their stadium was renamed for him.

After he left the club in 1992 for Sevilla, things got so bad the club technically folded and had to be re-formed as a business in 2004. They restarted in Serie C, the third tier, and they made it back to Serie A three years later.

For the next 15 years they had great players, great managers and great fans, but only another Coppa Italia to show for it. Then last season they caught lightning in a bottle, when a team of unproven young players tore up the league, winning the title by 16 points, setting off epic celebrations throughout the city.

The Derby del Sole (Derby of the Sun) also known as the Derby del Sud (Derby of the South) features Napoli and their rivals, Roma. The two clubs are considered the most popular outside of Northern Italy. Otherwise, as a proud center of Southern Italy, they seem to hate all the northern clubs, especially Juventus.

S.S.D. Napoli Femminile, founded in 2003, compete in women’s Italian Serie A. Home games are at the Stadio comunale “Arena” Giuseppe Piccolo in the eastern part of the city. Check napolifemminile.it for more information.

We didn’t notice any particular anthems when I visited. I will say this, though: When the Champions League theme is played, they seriously belt out “The Champions!” at the end.

The Stadio Diego Maradona, formerly San Paolo, is the third largest stadium in Italy, but it is the largest used by only one team, with a seating capacity of 54,726. It was built in 1959, then remodeled for the 1980 European Championship, and underwent renovations ahead of the 1990 World Cup. The stadium hosted five matches of that World Cup, including the semifinal between Italy and Argentina in which Maradona scored the winning penalty kick after the game ended 1-1 in extra time.

If you’re going, we suggest sitting a little higher up than you might be used to, because the stadium is round, and there’s an athletics track around the pitch. So lower-tier seats can feel quite far away and not have the best sightlines.

One peculiarity of the stadium is the presence of local hardcore tifosi in both shortside stands. Curva B is where the older supporter groups, which lived their golden age in the ‘80s, gather. Curva A is filled with more recent fan groups who are always present even when the stands host visiting club supporters. Source: Cult of Calcio

TOURS: None

GETTING THERE: The closest Metro stop is Campi Flegrei, reached from the center with Line 2, bound for Barra. You can also get to that station or the nearby Piazza Leopardi with regular train service from Napoli Centrale. Buses 151 or 152 from the center get you a little closer to the stadium.

You can find directions to the stadium here on the club’s website.

PUBS & GRUB: Italians, as you might imagine, are pretty good at pregame food trucks outside the stadium, and Napoli certainly has these. Also, the neighborhood around the stadium has several places to eat and drink.

A particularly happening place is La Porchetteria, on the walk over from Piazza Leopardi. The nearby Caffeteria Degli Azzurri has more seating a slightly more sedate atmosphere. Pizzeria Pellone does a good pregame pizza, and see if the rather fancy Cipajo is doing their grilled sandwiches on the street; they are delicious.

AROUND TOWN: We like to say that if Rome and Kathmandu had a baby, it would be Naples. It’s Italian, of course, but with a strong dose of chaos and mystery.

The third-largest city in Italy behind Rome and Milan, Naples sits in the southwest part of the country on the Mediterranean Sea with Mount Vesuvius dominating the landscape. Naples was settled in the 9^th century BC before being refounded as Neapolis in the 6^th century BC. It now has over three million residents living in an urban tangle that is maddening, stressful and fabulous.

The city was heavily bombed by Allied forces during World War II, and received extensive reconstruction post-1945. The Port of Naples is now one of the most important in all of Europe.

Naples’ historic city center is the largest of its kind in Europe and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It is known as the birthplace of pizza, and the lines at the 1870 Pizzeria da Michele speak to this. Elsewhere, look for the Michelen-starred Pizzeria 50 Kalo for a better all-around dining experience.

The other thing you need to eat is a little cheese- and custard-filled pastry called a sfogliatelle. And the place to get them is the counter service at Sfogliatelle calde Attanasio, out behind Napoli Centrale station. You’ll have to wait a while, but they will be warm and fresh, and you will be grateful.

And make sure you talk a walk down Spaccanapoli, looking for Maradona shrines as you go!

The Cult of Calcio sums up the essence of the Naples:

The city of Naples is not like any other city. Located in Southern Italy, it is the most populous in the South and famous for its inhabitants – exaggerated, histrionic, and as loud as passionate. Neapolitans represent a great part of the historical image of Italians around the world.

However, Naples is also notorious for its chaos, suburban poverty and organized crime, which sometimes also infiltrates into the calcio. For better or worse, football is lived in Naples like in no other city in the country. You only need to travel around the city to find references to the team, its players and, obviously, Diego Maradona. Graffiti, shops, t-shirts, flags, scarves, the whole of Naples is painted in white and blue.